BC Network of Child and Youth Advocacy Centre Practice Principles

The BC Network is very pleased to publish the first edition of the BC Network of Child and Youth Advocacy Centre Practice Principles. This manual is a culmination of hundreds of hours of work put in by the exceptional members of our network and was developed in order to facilitate the consistent practice of child abuse response in our province.

The goal of CYACs is to foster better outcomes for child who have experienced violence or abuse, by minimizing further trauma. Our centres offer welcoming, child-friendly and safe environments where children and youth who have experienced abuse, sexual assault, or witnessed a crime can share their story with police and social workers who are specially trained to listen and respond to children. CYACs reduce further trauma for the child and family by bringing representatives from all agencies that might need to be involved in the investigation, medical or mental health services planning, and ongoing counseling and support – in one seamless experience.

The Practice Principles manual is meant to support the practice of the professionals on the multi-disciplinary teams in our centres. The manual lays out the foundational principles of CYACs and then the principles under four practice areas (interviewing children and youth, case management, health services and mental health services). The principles are intended to guide CYACs in their development and expansion of services and are broad enough to be applied in any geographic region of the province.

For a copy of the BC Network of Child and Youth Advocacy Centre Practice Principles please email Coordinator, Brooke McLardy, at [email protected] or via our contact form.